Most of us are familiar with the rapid rate of postal increases over the past years. The post office has made attempts to stem the financial increases of postal deliveries by mechanizing and automating some of its functions.
However, in the area of one of the greatest financial outlays--the salary of the postal delivery agent or letter-carrier--comparatively little has been done to increase his field efficiency.
Doubtless, the implementation of management information systems within the postal complexes themselves have kept the cost of postal deliveries from increasing even more than they already have. The basic fact is that if postal increases are to be checked to any substantial degree, then information management must be moved further--that is, brought out into the field where the delivery agent is operating.
Just as the door-to-door milkman has proven to be painfully inefficient, so then must be realized the inefficiency of delivering postage door-to-door, sometimes a single piece of mail at a time.
The residential centralization of postage under the control of a field-based computer would enable delivery agents to perform more efficiently. The ultimate result would be a much greater workload accomplishment per individual postal agent, necessitating fewer hours per agent in the field.
Speculation of late is made concerning the implementation of electronic-messaging. The reference is made even of a paperless society. As a communication tool, the telephone did not cause a decrease in the volume of mail. Neither has the computer replaced books as teaching tools. Furthermore, computers have certainly not eliminated school buildings and campuses. Rather, the computers complimented these functions. So, then, mail will be delivered. Especially when one considers that every private citizen is not likely to keep up an electronic messaging system or maintain properly--keep paper, chemicals, adjustments, etc in--a facsimile machine. The computer-based postal manager, however, is entirely postal-service maintained. With experience, therefore, as the judge, any transition to a system of the above mentioned will be partial and, that, greatly protracted. On the other hand, the residential computer-based postal manager is based upon principles and economic conditions which lend to its implementation now.
Not only is the system efficient for the residential and business community, but its efficiency can also be realized on military installations and college campuses for the routine distribution of mail and again on college campuses for the campus-wide distribution of facsimile. The bulk distribution by facsimile to the customers of public utilities can also be realized.